Reminiscences

By Sue White

This is Sue's first book which she wrote using the information from her Scrap Books of all her holidays from 1968 until the year 2000. The experiences cover countries including the UK, Europe, Tunisia, USA, Canada, Mallorca, Canary Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. The form of accommodation varies from a small tent up to Hotels and Villas.

Her family, including husband and two boys are with her until her first caravan experience in 1983 and from then until 2000 just Sue and her husband are the travellers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 25, 2010
• ISBN: 9781481792172

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

CHARMOUTH 1968

The first holiday recorded after the boys arrived, the eldest, John born in 1965, and his brother Neil in 1968, was to Charmouth in 1968. As Neil was only a few months old, most of the holiday was taken up with feeds, but it seemed he was a good baby as all his early morning feeds were recorded as taking place at about 8.30am – not bad for a youngster!

The week was spent in a caravan on a caravan site that was all of 85 miles away from home. The weather was good and they visited all the local places, such as Chesil beach, Bicton Gardens, Plymouth, (to see a cousin and show off the new addition, no doubt!), Lyme Regis and their favourite Flaghead Chine, to which they very often visited during the summer weekends as it was quite local to their home. Husband Tony was the driver, as at this time, Liz could not drive but intended to learn. The homeward journey on the Saturday was uneventful and Tony went off to work on the Monday, feeling that the break away with his family had certainly been very special and had given him some prime time with his new son.

Liz was very fortunate to have her parents living ‘three doors away’ and as her father was now retired, he was a welcome sight anytime. Today he called round and proudly took his grandsons off to the village, so Liz was able to tackle her twin tub filled to the brim with the holiday washing in peace.

CHAPTER 2

WOOLACOMBE 1970

The holiday 2 years later in 1970 was for two weeks, again in a caravan, but this time in Woolacombe. The family of four left their home at 9.0 am in their well-loved car, a 1958 Sunbeam Rapier. It was recorded having the Number plate of WHP 60, probably worth a few pounds now! Having made many unsuccessful stops on the way for refreshments, they were then held up by heavy traffic in Taunton, a Wedding in Shillingford, re-directed around Barnstaple, so they eventually arrived at their holiday caravan just after 5.00 pm.

After all that they were really happy with the Caravan, which was only 3 years old and very spacious. The Site had all the modern conveniences, children’s play area, a shop and best of all (for them anyway), a Café where they were able to purchase Fish & Chips! The weather was misty and eventually turned to rain, but the boys went to bed quite happy and thought their bunk beds were great. Tony worked out that it had taken 7 gallons of petrol for the journey but couldn’t tell what the mileage was as the mileometer did not work.

Although there was heavy rain throughout the night it cleared up in the morning, and after a fried breakfast they were visited by the boys’ ‘Nan and Pop’ who were Tony’s parents, now staying in their touring caravan nearby. The boys enjoyed their company and Nan and Pop bought them a table tennis bat and ball each and some books (that’s what grandparents are for!)

Liz was always good at preparing for holidays; she actually put money by for them. Her first full employment at the age of 16 was in a bank so she knew the importance of saving money. Tony was a keen gardener and took some home-grown garden produce with him, which helped with the food bills. The dwarf beans, beetroot and carrots fresh from the garden came in very useful for their meals, and Liz, being quite a good cook, soon managed to stretch their shillings!

They enjoyed many visits from Nan and Pop and also some other friends from their village came to see them.

They drove out to many places in the area, Croyde Bay, Westward Ho! Barnstaple and Woolacombe beach which was very large, especially when the tide was out. It was there that they all sat on polythene bags on the wet sand and had to pay two shillings to park the car in the car park nearby!

It was good to see that postcards were only 4d each and they sent some to their friends and also to their other grandparents from whom they had received £20 by post, a lot of money in those days which helped boost the holiday fund.

The sandy beaches were a great attraction, especially to the boys and gave them many hours of enjoyment. The home-made ice creams from Hocklings Van, an old Morris Van nearly 34 years old went down very well with all of them.

On the Wednesday they went on a trip to Ilfracombe, after having had another of Liz’s special fried breakfasts. They had trouble with the car on the journey, but Tony fixed it – a loose wire! Having purchased some pasties on their way to the Tunnel Beach, they were then forced to pay 3d each to go through the ‘Tunnel’ to the beach, but they were very disillusioned to find that it consisted of grey slate and was quite horrible. They soon left the beach and sat on the cliff top near a swimming pool where they enjoyed their lunch and afterwards had a swim in the heated pool. On the way back John had a ride on the battery-operated go-kart that ran on its own concrete track in a small park, quite good value at one shilling. Before going ‘home’ they all had a lovely meal in Combe Martin and then called in to see their Nan and Pop in their caravan that was parked in a field amongst the sheep and lambs. As they had planned to move on to another area the next day, the visit was fortuitous.

Although the next day brought rain, after a late start they made their way to Clovelly via Newton Tracy and stopped at The Hunter’s Inn where they had very nice ploughman’s lunch and pasties. By the time they reached Clovelly the sun had come out and it was very hot, especially walking down the cobbled street and back. The boys liked the donkeys, which were busy giving rides up and down the steep hill to people and children, mainly just for fun.

On the way back they were all intrigued to see a practice helicopter sea rescue take place just in front of them. It looked quite realistic and was reassuring to know this kind of training was being given in readiness for the times when it would be needed, perhaps during rough weather, in which many fishermen in the area may be forced to take risks.

After that they were tempted into indulging in a ‘cream tea’ as advertised at a lovely little restaurant not far from their site. This was instead of their usual evening meal and was a really enjoyable treat. Back at their site, they popped into the ‘camp pub’ for liquid refreshment, which was where John had previously met a young 3 year old girl, but this night she was tucked up in bed.

Unfortunately the weather became very wet and windy which meant touring the area as planned was not a good idea, so a few lazy days followed and eating and drinking had a new meaning! and kept off the boredom. They were lucky to have a clubhouse where the entertainment certainly kept the children happy and mum and dad enjoyed the socialising too!

At the start of the second week they had to change over to a different caravan, only just opposite them, and they soon got settled in. Their friends turned up unexpectedly and the boys were soon engrossed in swapping holiday tales and played together with the few toys they had brought from home. After having lunch they went for a walk and came across a new beach at Mortehoe, only 102 steps to manoeuvre down to the beach! Finding the lovely rock pools and sandy beach was a real bonus and later, many hours were spent back there.

In the evening, although the boys were very tired, they called in to the Entertainment’s Hall to watch the performance of a local beat group. Neil, although only very young enjoyed ‘dancing’, perhaps that was the start to his career, as now 32 years on, he has his own recording studio, and is well into recording bands including his own.

The only real problem with the caravan was the making up of the double bed for Liz and Tony. The only way (as the blankets could have been larger) was to overlap them in the middle – crossways!

They awoke to an overcast and misty day, and therefore didn’t enjoy their tour of Blackmoor Gate and Lynton, but continuing on to Lynmouth, the weather became a lot brighter. They walked around the park where the boys had a swing, and mum enjoyed the shops, ending with a treat of ice creams all round

The next day was planned for a visit to Plymouth to see Liz’s cousin and family. It was quite a long way and the roads back in 1970 were in quite a bad state. The journey took three and a half hours and was very difficult, as the mist had come around them again. Tony struggled to find the right roads via Barnstaple, Atherington, then on to the B3217 to Exbourne, continuing through Whiddon Down, Princetown, then via the Dartmoor Forest (couldn’t even see the prison) on to Plymouth and then out to Yealmpton.

Cousin Edna greeted them with some of her special home cooking for lunch and afterwards the boys happily played games until their great Uncle and Aunt arrived for a cup of tea. They sat down later to a lovely ham salad with all the trimmings before they left, feeling very tired and full. Tony took the more direct route back to the Caravan which only took 3 hours and ten minutes! Tony and Liz soon sorted out the boys who hardly knew of the transfer from the car to their beds, and so continued their sleep for the night.

The heavy rain and wind pursued all night but by 8.30 the next morning all was calm again and they took a trip out to Ilfracombe Zoo, not very large although there were a good selection of animals. Tony drove down to Mortehoe at the end of Woolacombe Bay for a swim but the tide was right in with no beach so they settled for a swim in the Pool back at the Camp. Liz and Tony tried to encourage the boys into the pool and although John had quite a splash around, Neil just wasn’t interested.

Back in the Caravan they were told of a Donkey Derby taking place locally, with a chance for the children to ride in the original ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ Car, so they now have something to look forward to for tomorrow evening! Liz is thinking she may have a few bets on the donkeys too!

They awoke to a better day, although still overcast. Liz got on with her chores of washing etc. and they all left for a visit to Watersmouth Castle by 11 o’clock via Lee Beach.

The weather had improved and they were happy to see the sun at last! The Castle had lots to interest them all especially the ‘old exhibits’ of prams, pushchairs, washing machines, books, bicycles including the old penny farthing and a tricycle.

Coffees and pasties went down well, after which they visited the pets’ cemetery before making their way back to the local beach. The problem now was that the tide was right in, so they continued on to Croyde Bay. Tony had a swim whilst mum and boys had a paddle and then John enjoyed a ride on a donkey but his brother preferred to stay on firmer ground.

After having a Café meal they set off to enjoy the main attraction of the evening which was to have a ride on the original ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ Car. This delighted both of the boys, (and a photo was taken to prove it). Liz managed to win ten shillings on the Donkey races, but at two shilling a race, I don’t think she made anything, and as all the money raised went to a charity anyway, she had no complaints.

On the way back to base they all agreed that this was the best day of the holiday so far.

Only two more days left of the holiday now, and after the routine morning chores and a visit to the shop on site, they collected a postcard from the boys’ grandparents saying that they had made their way back to Bridport for a few days as the weather was so misty, at least the weather was the same everywhere! Just as they were leaving, their friends arrived and decided they would all go to the Hunter’s Inn for a lunch, thank goodness the beer was enjoyed by the men, which was more than could be said for the service and the pasties!

Onward for their afternoon’s ‘hike’ up the hill at Girt Down and on reaching 1146 feet above sea level, there was a lovely panoramic view of the area. The boys were happy to play some ball games, which gave the two sets of parents time to enjoy a natter. When the boys were ready, they returned to their cars and went back to base, firstly checking out the tide times at Woolacombe beach.

For their last day on this site at Twitchen House, after having packed their cases and cleaned the Caravan, they decided to have time on the beach at Woolacombe. The boys loved playing in the rock pools, and this they did until the tide came in and they hurriedly got dressed and went back to the car park.

The evening was spent at the clubhouse for the last time where a good fun time was laid on for children of all ages.

The next day was a sad one and although the weather had been far from good, the boys did not want to leave. Tony and Liz called at the Office on their exit to find out details of other static caravans with flush toilets as they thought life would have been a bit easier for them if next time they could afford this improvement. The price including this ‘luxury’ was eighteen guineas per week, which they thought was not bad!

The journey home took six and a half hours including an enjoyable stop at the White Horse Inn near Bradford-on-Tone. The boys played with a ginger kitten and the Landlady introduced them to her very friendly Alsatian. The food was excellent and they voted it the No.1 Pub of the holiday!

On arriving home they found that the children’s other grandparent had been very busy. The drive had been weeded and rollered with a neighbour’s heavy roller and their garden produce of rhubarb and dwarf beans had been pulled and cut and then finally bottled for them.

The boys soon found their toys and after tea they had to endure a really good bath and hair washes to make up for the lack of cleanliness over the past two weeks!

Liz looked at the washing and decided it could wait another day (or two?)

Sunday came and the usual trip to Flaghead Chine didn’t go amiss. They couldn’t believe their luck, having hot weather for the last few days was the icing on the cake as far as holidaying in England was concerned.

CHAPTER 3

WOOLACOMBE 1971

The following year Tony and Liz decided to go back to Woolacombe as the boys were still rather young to venture abroad, which was their intention later on. They had booked for two weeks at Twitchen House and once again in a caravan.

Their journey started off in August in a white ‘F’ registration Cortina, of which they were very proud. The weather was quite kind to them and they all enjoyed the scenery as they travelled via Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Wincanton, Podimore, Huish Escopi, Taunton, Milverton, Bampton, Exbridge, Dulverton, Simonsbath, across Exmoor, then through Blackmoor Gate and eventually Woolacombe – all of 163 miles! They arrived at their Caravan at about half past two and the boys were really excited. They had their own small bedroom with bunk beds that Tony soon made up, and Liz got on with sorting out the clothes. They were all pleased at the improvement over last year’s van – they actually had their own toilet too! John went to the Camp shop for some milk, but came back as he couldn’t find any. No wonder! It was packed in square polythene bags. They all had a meal in the Campsite Café, and then back to their van and after a good wash, the boys were quite happy to go to bed, but took a while to settle, as they were rather ‘high’.

After a fried breakfast, Liz took the boys to the pool, but it was a bit chilly and a little too deep for them, so they all went off to Croyde Bay where they had good old Cornish Pasties for lunch and on they went to Watermouth Castle where they saw a mini covered in mauve and black ‘iron filings’ giving the appearance of being covered in carpet material. The gardens were terraced and now that the sun was out, they all enjoyed the walk along by the river. On arrival back at the Camp, they decided to try the pool again, and because the sun was out, it felt warmer and all but Neil had a good swim, he was happy in the paddling pool. The boys then played on the swings where John made friends with a little girl called Emily. After a ride out to Woolacombe beach, where they were able to take note of the local tide times, they watched a lovely red sunset and hoped it meant a fine day tomorrow.

It turned out to be a lovely day, so off they went to Westward Ho! via Hunters Inn where they bought lunch, but so may wasps bothered them outside, they had to sit in the car with the windows up, and oh it was so hot! (Children were not allowed in many Pubs at that time!) It was lovely on the sands and they went in the sea for a while, and then had a flask of coffee before going back to the Car Park which was actually a large field and proved a good place to try out their ‘parachute’ kite, which went well in the sea breeze.

Back at base the boys were soon ready for bed, after having eaten quite well, although Neil had fallen over and bruised his knee, so was not very happy! After a good wash they were soon asleep, and Tony and Liz were planning the next day.

A lovely clear blue sky greeted them when they awoke, so they went off to the local beach for a few hours, followed by a journey to Bideford Zoo which was quite good, although not many animals but it was all clean and nicely laid out. The boys liked the baby bear, he was apparently only 5 months old and growled at them, but they kept their distance! They made tracks for ‘home’ and although they had had good weather today, it was now getting very windy. Their usual evening meal was eaten in the Van and afterwards Tony took the boys across to the Clubhouse for a while. When they returned the boys were no trouble, and were ready for their beds.

It had rained in the night, but by 11 o’clock it was clearing up, so they went to Lynmouth, and then on to Lynton via a cliff railway – a bit like a cable car - for lunch, and then returned back down the cliff to Lynmouth, where they walked round the pretty bay leading them close to the water falls. Their return journey back to the Van took them via the coast road, through Combe Martin.

They had Pasties from the Camp shop, followed by their own Cream Tea, which went down well! But Liz thinks she might be putting on weight! The boys got dressed in their long trousers ready for an evening’s trip out to Lee Bay, a pretty run and the walk around the bay was interesting. There was a man-made path running through the rocks with seaweed up to the edge of the sea. The temperature was dropping and the wind was getting up, it was also beginning to get dark, so they made their way back to the caravan via a very narrow road. The boys soon got into bed and fell asleep almost immediately, even though it seemed there was a storm brewing!

Oh, what a night! There was a really heavy storm with thunder and lightening, keeping Liz and Tony awake most of the time. The rain literally fell out of the sky and the noise from the ‘fridge which normally kept Liz awake at night could not be heard over the storm noises. John awoke at 7.0am as bright as a button as he had slept right through everything, and was quickly told to go back to bed for another hour!

By the time they had eaten a fried breakfast and finished the daily chores, it was noon, the weather had improved a great deal and the sun was actually shining. After a lot of deliberating, it was decided the best plan was to go to their local beach for a while and have a swim, collecting on the way some Pasties and bananas for lunch. By about 3 o’clock it was clouding over again and the suggestion of a trip to Clovelly was thought to be a good idea.

They walked down through the cobbled streets, bought some postcards and saw a load of mackerel, which had just been caught. John wanted to buy some peaches, remembering that was what they did on the last visit, Liz thought 5p each was a lot of money, but they hadn’t spent much today, so she gave in. On the way back they saw the sign to Hartland Lighthouse, and as they probably would not be back this way again, they thought a visit would be worthwhile. They took the road signposted, which went around the edge of the cliff. The car park was through a farmer’s field and a young very pregnant girl took 10p from them for the privilege of parking. Following the signposts to the Lighthouse the walk to it was about a mile round the cliff – as if they hadn’t walked far enough that day! It turned out to be an interesting trip as one of the Trinity House representatives gave them a tour to the top and explained the working parts. Apparently the light beams can be seen as far as 18 miles out to sea giving a total output of 3,500 watts at 100v, magnified 6 million times and flashing every 7 seconds. The foghorn was run by compressed air and sounded every seven seconds also. The lighthouse light was run off the mains electricity but in the event of a power failure they had their own generator. They were told that £5,000 of mercury was housed under the lighting area, which made it efficient, requiring very little power. It was made clear to them that it was sealed in for security so no good trying to rob it! These facts were remembered by Tony, so no chastising him if he was wrong!

On the way back to the van they stopped at a Café for a meal, the usual holiday food of sausages, fish, faggots and roast chicken (not all on one plate!)– all with chips etc. and washed down with teas and cold drinks, costing all of £1.02p!! Not at all bad value!

The boys fell into bed exhausted once more and Tony and Liz followed shortly.

The next day was a lazy day at the local beach with a lunch of Tatti-ogies purchased from the local butchers plus fruit and drinks of coffee and orange. The sun was really hot and they enjoyed swimming and playing in the sea.

In the evening they went to the Clubhouse where there were organised games etc., laid on for the children together with a Disco. Tony and Liz met the other couples and their families, and learnt that their neighbours were leaving the next morning. Another week and Liz would be packing up too!

Another good night and no problems with the boys – they were soon fast asleep.

Saturday today, weather very misty but by the time they were ready to go out the mist had cleared and away they went to Combe Martin for a shopping spree, but bought nothing except lunch. They continued on to Ilfracombe and Liz was able to buy her mother a couple of statues, which she liked and hope her mum would too. Tony paid for the boys to go on the battery cars. Neil was old enough to go on them this year and both the boys had fun.

Back at the van they had a snack and went over to the Clubhouse again to listen to the live band now called ‘The Breadcrumbs’. The same group were called ‘Widecombe Fair’ last year! They enjoyed the atmosphere and it was nice to meet up with the other couples on the Camp.

Once again – no problems getting the boys to bed - they were tired out.

Sunday today and Liz’s cousin from Plymouth and husband were due for lunch so the Van had to have a clean through and a tidy up. It was lovely to see them and their daughter, and they enjoyed the boys’ company, saying how they had grown up from last year. After lunch they decided to go to the local beach and had fun jumping the big rollers, which were now coming in. Cousin Edna and Max played with the boys, building dams and sand castles. Back to the Van for a cream tea etc., Max and Edna were soon on their way home, leaving John 50p to share with his brother, which was ‘naughty but nice’.

Although they had quite a busy day they still went off in the evening for a drive to find Bull Point Lighthouse, which they had seen on a signpost earlier, but found out it was not in walking distance and was situated on quite a dangerous cliff edge. On the way back to the car they walked through National Trust land and found themselves among many sheep. A short cut through another Caravan Park proved to be rather tedious as they had 4 gates and 2 styles to manoeuvre. They made it back to base in the end, but not before they had popped in to their Local for pasties and drinks!

Weather the next day was overcast to start with but looked like clearing up later. They took a trip into Mortehoe and managed to find a gift for Tony’s parents – a miniature windmill for the garden. They then drove on to Woolacombe for the delicious Tatti Oggies, which they bought from one special butcher, but he hadn’t any yet as his wife did the washing first on a Monday or else he wouldn’t have a clean shirt for tomorrow! Liz went back to the shop after buying ice creams for the boys, and was first in the queue. The ‘pies’ were lovely and hot and they could hardly wait to eat them, but they drove on to a Game Park they had seen advertised near Okehampton in the Pine Valley and had their lunch on a seat in front of the ‘Duke of York’ pub in a little village called Iddlesleigh. Pine Valley was situated a bit further on past Exbourne. Parking and admittance was 25p adults and 12½p for children under 5. It was quite good but mainly housed birds with a few monkeys, one bear, goats, an otter, foxes, rabbits and loads of guinea pigs. It covered quite an area and had only been opened a year or two, so they were still building up their stock. The journey back took them through Great Torrington, Bideford, Instow, Barnstaple and Braunton where they stopped to get shopping for their dinner. Liz made a curry from the two pieces of cooked chicken she had bought, which made a tasty meal together with rice, and chips from the shop, but John preferred sausages instead of curry.

After a good wash both boys went to bed quite happily. It soon started to rain and they thought themselves lucky to have had a fine day.

Liz thought she ought to find a launderette today as they were running short of clean clothes, towels, etc. They all had a swim in the pool first – Tony had bought the boys armbands and they had more confidence and stayed in the pool longer. Tony and Liz enjoyed their swimming and diving; the weather today was fine and quite sunny, which was a surprise as it had rained most of the night. After drying off and changing they went into Ilfracombe where Liz found a Launderette and Tony took the boys on the battery cars. After lunch in the local Café they went down onto their rocky beach. Tony had bought a surfboard and although the sea wasn’t really rough they all had fun with it. They came out of the sea and had their usual afternoon snack of bananas and coffee – Liz reckons they will look like monkeys soon!

Arriving back at the van to sort out and pack away their clean clothes etc, they decided to have an evening’s run out to Putsborough where they saw a beach very similar to ‘theirs’ with plenty of space to drive onto and park the car should the Woolacombe one become too crowded. On the way home they called into the Manor Inn at Croyde and had their favourite Cornish Pasties once again. Afterwards they went for a walk through the pretty village, passing many picturesque cottages. As it